Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It tells the story ...

Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It tells the story of a young English poet/writer, Christian (Ewan McGregor), who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman). It uses the musical setting of the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France. {full_page}

At the 74th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Nicole Kidman, winning two: for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. It was the first musical nominated for Best Picture in 10 years, following Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991). In BBC's 2016 poll of the greatest films since 2000, Moulin Rouge! ranked 53rd.

In the year 1900, a British writer named Christian, suffering from depression, begins writing on his typewriter ("Nature Boy"). As Christian narrates, the film flashes back to one year earlier upon Christian's move to the Montmartre district of Paris to become a writer among members of the area's Bohemian movement. He soon discovers that his neighbours are a loose troupe of performers led by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Toulouse-Lautrec and the others ask for Christian's help, and his writing skills allow them to finish their proposed show, Spectacular Spectacular, that they wish to sell to the owner of the Moulin Rouge, Harold Zidler. The group arrives at the Moulin Rouge as Zidler and his "Diamond Dog Dancers" perform for the audience ("Zidler's Rap Medley/Can Can Dance"). Toulouse arranges for Christian to see Satine, the star courtesan, in her private quarters to present the work, unaware that Zidler has been promising Satine to the wealthy and psychopathic Duke of Monroth, a potential investor in the cabaret ("Sparkling Diamonds").

Satine mistakes Christian for the Duke, and dances with him before retiring to her private chamber with him to discuss things confidentially ("Rhythm of the Night", "Meet Me in the Red Room"), but soon learns he is just a writer ("Your Song"). The Duke interrupts them; Christian and Satine claim they were practicing lines for Spectacular Spectacular. With Zidler's help, Toulouse and the rest of the troupe pitch the show to the Duke with an improvised plot about an evil maharajah attempting to woo an Indian courtesan who loves a poor sitar player ("The Pitch (Spectacular Spectacular)"). The Duke backs the show on the condition that only he may see Satine. Satine contemplates Christian and her longing to leave the Moulin Rouge to become "a real actress" ("One Day I'll Fly Away"). Christian goes back to Satine to convince her that they should be together, and she eventually falls for him ("Elephant Love Medley"). As the cabaret is converted to a theater, Christian and Satine continue seeing each other under the pretense of rehearsing Satine's lines.

The Duke becomes suspicious of their frequent meetings and warns Zidler that he may stop financing the show; Zidler arranges for Satine to dine with the Duke that evening, but she falls ill from tuberculosis ("If I should die (Górecki)"). Zidler makes excuses to the Duke, claiming that Satine has gone to confession ("Like a Virgin"). Zidler learns from the doctor treating Satine that she does not have long to live, but keeps this knowledge from Satine. Satine tells Christian that their relationship endangers the show, but he counters by writing a secret love song to affirm their love ("Come What May").

As the Duke watches Christian rehearsing with Satine, Nini, a jealous performer, points out that the play is a metaphor for Christian, Satine and the Duke. Enraged, the Duke demands the ending be changed with the courtesan choosing the maharajah; Satine offers to spend the night with the Duke to keep the original ending. At the Duke's quarters, Satine sees Christian on the streets below, and realizes she cannot sleep with the Duke. ("El Tango de Roxanne (Roxanne)"). The Duke attempts to rape her, but she is saved by Le Chocolat, one of the cabaret's male dancers. Reunited with Christian, he urges her to run away with him. The Duke tells Zidler he will have Christian killed if Satine is not his. Zidler reiterates this warning to Satine, but when she refuses to return, he finally informs her she is dying ("A Fool to Believe"). Zidler tells Satine that to save Christian's life, she has to tell him that she will be staying with the Duke and she doesn't love him ("The Show Must Go On"). Christian tries following her, but is denied entry to the Moulin Rouge, and becomes depressed, even though Toulouse insists that Satine does love him.

The night of the show, Christian sneaks into the Moulin Rouge, intending to pay Satine her fee as a courtesan ("Hindi Sad Diamonds"). He catches Satine before she steps on stage and demands she tell him she does not love him. Suddenly they find themselves in the spotlight; Zidler improvises and convinces the audience that Christian is the sitar player in disguise. Christian denounces Satine and walks off the stage. From the rafters, Toulouse cries out, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return", spurring Satine to sing the song Christian wrote to express their love. Christian returns to the stage, joining her in the song and reaffirming his love for her. The Duke orders his bodyguard to kill Christian, but is thwarted, while the Duke's own attempt is stopped by Zidler. The Duke storms out of the cabaret as Christian and Satine complete their song ("Come What May (Reprise)", "Coup d'État (Finale)").

After the curtain closes, Satine succumbs to tuberculosis. Before she dies, Christian and Satine affirm their love and she tells him to write their story. A year later, the Moulin Rouge has closed down, and Christian finishes writing the tale of his love for Satine, a "love that will live forever" ("Nature Boy (Reprise)").

Nicole Kidman as Satine

Ewan McGregor as Christian

Jim Broadbent as Harold Zidler

Richard Roxburgh as The Duke of Monroth

John Leguizamo as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Jacek Koman as The Narcoleptic Argentinean

Caroline O'Connor as Nini Legs-in-the-Air

Kerry Walker as Marie

Lara Mulcahy as Môme Fromage

Garry McDonald as The Doctor

Matthew Whittet as Satie

Keith Robinson as Le Pétomane

Natalie Mendoza as China Doll

Christine Anu as Arabia

David Wenham as Audrey

Kiruna Stamell as La Petite Princesse

Deobia Oparei as Le Chocolat

Kylie Minogue as The Green Fairy

Ozzy Osbourne as The Green Fairy's laugh

Peter Whitford as The Stage Manager

Linal Haft as Warner

The storyline of Moulin Rouge can be traced back to Alexandre Dumas, fils' The Lady of the Camellias, although Luhrmann, as an opera director, was probably more directly influenced by Verdi's adaptation, La traviata. When asked about his inspiration for Moulin Rouge!, Luhrmann remarked:

When I was in India researching Midsummer Night's Dream, we went to this huge, ice cream picture palace to see a Bollywood movie. Here we were, with 2,000 Indians watching a film in Hindi, and there was the lowest possible comedy and then incredible drama and tragedy and then break out in songs. And it was three-and-a-half hours! We thought we had suddenly learnt Hindi, because we understood everything! We thought it was incredible. How involved the audience were. How uncool they were - how their coolness had been ripped aside and how they were united in this singular sharing of the story. The thrill of thinking, 'Could we ever do that in the West? Could we ever get past that cerebral cool and perceived cool.' It required this idea of comic-tragedy. Could you make those switches? Fine in Shakespeare - low comedy and then you die in five minutes. ... In Moulin Rouge, we went further. Our recognisable story, though Orphean in shape, is derived from Camille, La Boheme - whether you know those texts or not, you recognise those patterns and character types.

Luhrmann revealed that he drew from the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice in the DVD's audio commentary. The legend of Orpheus says he was a musical genius, far surpassing anyone in his world; the filmmakers chose to replicate this by using songs from the mid-to-late 20th century, many decades after the film's 1899 setting. In this way, Christian would appear to the other characters to be ahead-of-his-time as a musician and writer.

Production began in November 1999 and was completed in May 2000, with a budget of $52.5 million. Filming generally went smoothly, with the only major problem occurring when Kidman injured her ribs twice while filming one of the more complicated dance sequences and torn knee cartilage resulting from a fall during the "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" production song; she also stated in an interview with Graham Norton that she broke a rib while getting into a corset, by tightening it as much as possible to achieve an 18-inch waist. The production also overran in its shooting schedule and had to be out of the Fox Studios in Sydney to make way for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (in which McGregor also starred). This necessitated some pick-up shots being filmed in Madrid.

In the liner notes to the film's Special Edition DVD, Luhrmann writes that "[the] whole stylistic premise has been to decode what the Moulin Rouge was to the audiences of 1899 and express that same thrill and excitement in a way to which contemporary movie-goers can relate." With that in mind, the film takes well-known popular music, mostly drawn from the MTV Generation, and anachronizes it into a tale set in a turn-of-the-century Paris cabaret. The movie also features editing that several critics compared to a music video, involving swirling camera motion, loud music, dancing, and frenetic cutting.

Some of the songs sampled include "Chamma Chamma" from the Hindi movie China Gate, Queen's "The Show Must Go On" (arranged in operatic format), David Bowie's rendition of Eden Ahbez's "Nature Boy", "Lady Marmalade" by Patti LaBelle (the Christina Aguilera/P!nk/Mýa/Lil' Kim cover commissioned for the film), Madonna's "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin", Elton John's "Your Song", the titular number of The Sound of Music, "Roxanne" by The Police (in a tango format using the composition "Tanguera" by Mariano Mores), and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, a song rarely used in films. The film uses so much popular music that it took Luhrmann almost two years to secure all the rights to the songs.

Leonardo DiCaprio, who worked with Luhrmann on Romeo Juliet, auditioned for the role of Christian. Luhrmann also considered younger actors for the role, including Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal before Ewan McGregor won the part. Courtney Love auditioned for the role of Satine and assisted in clearing licensing rights for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to be used in the film.

Originally set for release on Christmas 2000 as a high-profile Oscar contender, 20th Century Fox eventually moved the release to the following spring so director Luhrmann would have more time during post-production. The film premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival on 9 May – making it the festival's opening title.